by Lisa Daniels
Chapter 9
Two Worlds Collide
I was fully prepared to make my last stand right there in that tiny cell. Before I could act, though, the guards at the bars started dropping to the ground. Seconds later, a man in regal clothing stood in the door, his hand reaching out to me. His silver hair shone in the light, topping a young-looking face that was far more handsome than any man I had ever encountered. My life had taught me that beauty was not to be trusted. I was proof of that.
Holding my sword up, I kept it trained on him, my eyes glaring at him. He motioned for me to give him my hand. I intensified my glare. “I won’t go anywhere with you.”
The man stepped forward. “Don’t move.” I froze at the familiar voice. A dagger flew inches past my face. My head turned in slow motion, and I saw the guard behind me drop to the floor.
The man extended a hand out to me, “I thought you promised to protect me on the way out of here. I am just as content to protect you if you don’t get moving, though. I will put it on your tab.”
I blinked, “What in the hell are you talking about?”
A mischievous grin spread across his face. “As much as I would love to stay here and banter, I can think of thousands of better places to let this play out. Strange, exotic, beautiful places where people aren’t trying to kill us. While they can’t do much to me, I worry about your frail little body.”
The swords had fallen to my sides as soon as the voice registered in my mind.
“You left me,” they were the words I had fought back ever since the morning I woke to find Bryce gone.
“Never.” His brilliant golden eyes flashed. This his cheeks flushed a mild pink that was hard to see in the dim light. “Well, okay, I did leave a few minutes ago. One of us needed to be alert.” His golden eyes bore into mine as he stepped forward. “You will have to forgive me, but I am ready to call this vacation over.” He took the sword from my hand. Moving it around in fluid motions that my eyes couldn’t follow, he muttered, “I will have to get mine back. This would only work as a door stop or coat hanger.” Taking my hand, he pulled me forward. I had no words of protest to utter. Nothing to say to this handsome stranger who owned the voice of the closest thing I had to a companion in more than a decade. My head was trying to reconcile the two very different men, the one in my head and the one in front of me.
He pulled me through the corridors, stopping just long enough to take down the guards. I looked behind us, inclined to apologize until I remembered how they had treated us. “Serves you right,” I spat as some of them bled; others were doubled over in pain. I had no idea how many he killed or if he had killed any of them. It occurred to me that he probably didn’t care. They were humans, part of a rapidly spreading problem that annoyed his people, or worse.
Watching Bryce’s progress through the dungeon, I saw why he had such an attitude. None of the guards posed any challenge on our way out. They were more like flies to him as he skillfully swatted them aside. I still had a sword, but it was about as necessary as a fifth wheel on a cart, much more of a liability than a help.
When we reached the courtyard, he slowed down. “Planning on dropping another Gargoyle on my head?”
A voice shouted down from above us, “This time we had more opportunity to prepare for your arrival. Archers!”
“Yes, that does make more sense,” he muttered under his breath. “At least that makes things easier.” He pointed at a door a little ways down the wall, “Go!”
I barely registered his words as my legs immediately listened. Slamming into the door a few seconds later, I spun around ready to yell in indignation. The arrow that landed pinned the sleeve of my dress to the door, reminding me now was not the time. Pushing through with my body, my other hand shot out and pulled my sleeve free, ripping almost the entire dress arm off. It hung limply against the door as I looked up to see the archers. They weren’t there. Instead, there was a long stone corridor. “He planned all of this.”
“Of course I did. It was a bit more of a challenge adjusting it to protect you,” he pulled me to him and stole a kiss. “But you were more than worth it.” There was a mischievous smile on his face, and I wondered what look on my face inspired that reaction. Bryce gave me no time to ponder that as he pulled me forward at a pace that was difficult to sustain. We ran headlong through the corridor until guards appeared at the other end. Pulling me to the left, we headed up a flight of stairs. Running with the spiral, I wanted to protest that we were getting further from the ground and escape.
Before I uttered a word, he turned, that same grin on his face, “You trusted me before. I ask only that you continue that trust now.” With a quick wink, he slammed his shoulder into a door. We burst through into a room full of surprised women. “Excuse us, ladies,” he yelled as we crossed the room to the window. Without stopping, he pulled me out after him. As we fell, he pulled me to him, turning his body so that he was under me, and whispered, “Hold your breath.”
I was about to say something, but instinctively, I did as I was told. Taking a big gulp of breath, I braced myself for the inevitable collision with the ground. Instead, water flew up around us, and most of the air I had taken into my lungs was expelled in my shock. I felt something pull me down further into the depths. I opened my eyes to look into those same startling golden eyes. They were smiling at me as a hand went behind my head and pulled me close. Bryce put his mouth over mine, both kissing me and blowing some air into my lungs. He gave me another quick wink before turning and pulling me forward. We moved much faster than I usually could underwater, but I knew that it was slower than he was accustomed to. How could it not be? I must have been like dead weight to him.
When we finally surfaced, we had covered a much longer distance than I had ever managed on my own underwater. “There. I did as you said and ran.”
Gasping for air, I clutched at my stomach. “I told Better Bryce to run. And he would have understood to do that from the beginning. Not saunter through the dungeon like he owned the place.”
“Do you really not understand?” He picked me up and began to carry me.
“I can walk just fine,” I tried to wiggle free of his arms.
“Maybe you used to, but since I met you I’ve seen precious little evidence that you can manage outside of a cell. So you will have to forgive me for making sure you make it to safety before seeing just how sturdy your legs are.” He smiled down at me, “It is going on your tab, though.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What tab?”
“Well, there was saving your life. That’s easily the biggest item running up your total. Then there was fixing your back, holding you at night, comforting you, feeding you, pretty much every interaction we had since we met.”
“You know damn well that I can’t pay you back. Even if I had money, it would be worthless with my country being wiped out of existence.”
“That’s alright. I can think of something far more valuable that you can offer me.” He looked down at me, his eyes glinting in the moonlight.
I clenched my teeth, “My body is not collateral.”
“That isn’t even a tempting offer.”
My mouth must have dropped open at the way he disregarded me. At a loss for words, I stared at him.
Sensing my growing discomfort, he looked down at me. Ever since he had appeared in the door, this version of Bryce was nothing like the one who had been by my side in the cell. Those eyes seemed to taunt me, and his words were far colder, “Don’t give me that look. I’m not a human. Remember?”
He moved impossibly faster, leaving the city far behind us in less time than I could have managed in two days.
“Ah, this will do nicely.” He turned his steps from the straight path he had been taking and moved off in a different direction.
A small cottage appeared not too far away from us, and I realized that my eyes were having trouble in the light. Almost as soon as I thought it, a large hand covered my eyes. “I know that your eyes are
not yet accustomed to the light, so I will not light the fireplace or any of the brighter lights.” The voice was in stark contrast to the tone he had used earlier. It was the same tone that had comforted me after the incident in the courtyard.
I simply nodded agreement.
A pair of lips pressed against my forehead as his hand moved from my eyes. “Keep them closed until I say to 0pen them.”
I nodded again.
He sighed, “I would say that I miss the way you argue with me, but right now I’m just so happy that you aren’t hurt that I don’t care that you seem struck dumb.”
The words shook me from my stupor, “I am not dumb.” I pushed away from him, still keeping my eyes closed.
With a laugh, his arm held me tighter, “That’s what I have been missing. You can be really sweet, but I love that you have a mind of your own.”
“When was I ever sweet to you?” I mumbled.
“Mostly since you thought I had abandoned you. Not that you blamed me.” My eyes were still closed, but I could now imagine the smile on his lips. It was very different than my original image, and it sent a shiver down my spine.
“Are you cold?” The concern was rich in his voice.
I was about to say no when I realized that would lead to more questions. And I was not about to admit the thoughts running through my head concerning Bryce. “A little,” I said meekly.
“Of course. You must be freezing in that dress. What little there is left of it. Hold on.” He put me down. A second later, something was draped over my shoulders. “That will have to do for now. I don’t want to go stealing clothing from the good people who live here.”
“What?” My eyes flew open, “You mean this isn’t your place?”
His brow furrowed for a second before a lopsided grin spread across his face, “Why would I have a place this close to humans? It was just somewhere on the way home. I thought considering what we had been through, all undeserved, the good people of Scythia could pay back some of what they owe us for the wrongful imprisonment that their country put us through. That’s their law, not ours.”
“I don’t think any court would find you innocent.”
This caused him to laugh loud and long, shaking the room. “Gods, how I missed this version of you,” he pulled me close, his arms wrapping around me. “But I don’t believe I said you could open your eyes.”
“We are inside, so there is no justification in having me keep them closed. There is barely enough light for me to see in here. What harm could it do?”
“The shrewd, logical woman that you are, that won’t work on me.” He put a hand under my chin and tilted my face up. My heart beat much too fast as I looked into those golden eyes. “I supposed it is just the two of us here, so I have your lovely green eyes to myself.” He moved my head a little. “I’ve never seen such a color. Had I known, I wouldn’t have had you keep the blindfold on so long.” His smile faded. “Of course, without that blindfold, you wouldn’t have been yourself around me.”
I frowned, “What is that supposed to mean?”
He leaned forward, and I breathed deeply of his scent. It was familiar and brought me comfort the closer he got. Bryce’s lips were almost touching mine as he said, “That’s what I mean.”
I opened my eyes, which I hadn’t even realized I had closed. “What?”
He let go of my chin and stepped away. “Now that you’ve seen me, you are acting differently.”
I put my hands on my hips, “Are you saying that women take one look at you and can’t resist you?”
One of his eye brows raised, but there was no mirth in his look. “Are you going to tell me I am wrong? I saw the look on your face when you finally saw me.”
“If I recall, that was when I readied my sword to ram it through you.”
He looked at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter. Leaning against a dark fireplace, Bryce seemed to need to catch his breath before he could speak, “You are absolutely correct. Your initial response was nothing abnormal, but the way you processed that reaction was entirely unique. I have never had a woman threaten me after just a look.” He pulled a sword from the wall. This one was much thinner and more delicate than the one the guards carried. Bryce tossed it at me. My hand stretched out to catch it before it hit me. He smiled at me, “I wonder if that is still how you feel.”
Throwing the sword to the side, I glowered at him, “Don’t be an idiot. I know who you are now.”
Bryce took a step toward me. In the faint light, I could not help but notice how he looked much more like a shimmering god than a mortal. Fighting down the thoughts in my mind, I held his gaze as he closed some of the distance between us. “Then what is your reaction? Now that you know who I am?”
I took a deep breath, “What the hell are you?” The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them.
He blinked at me a couple of times. His head tilted to the side as he apparently tried to process what I said. Whatever he thought I might say, that definitely had not been in the realm Bryce had considered.
When he was finally able to look at me, his golden eyes flashed. “I believe that I have told you once before that is a very personal question.”
I set my jaw, “You made me think that you had left me, appearing to me as a wolf after a night of passion. If you don’t think that I was delicate with you, how does that rank compared to what you did?”
His mouth fell open, but it was soon clear that Bryce had no response. Finally, a smile spread across his face. A hand slid across my check and pushed a strand of hair away from my face. “I’m a shifter. We are… very rare. Once we reach a certain age, we set out to find mates, and that is pretty much the only time we interact with any other species. I am several years past the age where I should have taken a mate because the women I have found were interested in me for all of the wrong reasons. I don’t want someone interested in me for my looks, and yet it was impossible to mask them whenever I did go out to find my mate.”
“To think all you had to do was encounter a fool who was entirely unaware of his surroundings.”
His laugh was low and calming, “Had I known earlier, I would have insisted on our leader acting a lot sooner.” Bryce’s hand slid down to my lower back, and something flashed in his eyes, “I could perhaps have saved you from a lot of unnecessary, cruel pain.”
I leaned forward, placing my head on his chest, “There was no guarantee that things would have gone better if you had found me sooner. I was far more cautious in those early days. It was only because I was about ready to act that I got careless.”
“Then I’m glad I found you before that happened.” His arms wrapped around my back, all of the humor and playfulness gone from his voice. There was only the man who had comforted me in that room.
Wrapping my arms around him, I looked up at him. “Despite all of the horrible stuff you have said, I’m glad you found me before that happened, too.”
His eyes shone in the light as he looked down at me. Now that we were safe, I could see that he was only a few inches taller than me. I had imagined him to be shorter than me in the cell, then believed him to be much taller as we left the dungeon. In front of me was the real Bryce. “The original Bryce,” I murmured as I looked up at him.
He frowned, “I prefer when you call me Better Bryce.”
“Can you be better than yourself?” I asked, a sly grin spreading across my face.
“Oh, I believe the answer is yes.” The feel of his lips on mine erased any doubt about what he meant with this words. His hand pulled the blanket from my shoulders and tore the dress from my body. Before I had time to say anything, he had pressed me against the floor, his hands moving skillfully over my body. My objections turned into moans as he reminded me of that night.
“Always feel free to tell me if I am better than myself.”
I could only manage a scream as he brought me to climax before he had removed any of his own clothes.
Chapter 10
&n
bsp; When Things Are What They Seem
The sun shone through the windows the next morning. As I began to stir, a gentle hand moved over my eyes. “Slowly. There is no reason to rush.”
I smiled in the direction of the voice. “Did you watch me sleep?”
“Of course.”
“I feel certain you had other things you could have done.”
A pair of warm lips pressed against mine. “Other things, certainly. But nothing better.”
I couldn’t suppress the giggle. Hiding my face against his chest, he began to move away. The calming voice was laced with the promise of what was to come, “Oh no, please don’t hide that pretty face. It’s bad enough I can’t look at your eyes.”
“It’s only fair. I can’t see any of you.”
“You aren’t missing much.”
“Liar,” I said, slapping his hand over my eyes. Bryce took his hand away, startled at my action. My eyes opened for a brief second. It hurt, but his handsome face was right in front of mine. I kept it in my mind as his hand slid back over my eyes.
“I’m doing this more for your sake than mine.”
“You admit that you are doing it in part for your own benefit, then.”
“Of course. Looking into your eyes…” Whatever he was going to say was cut off as he pressed his lips against mine. Bryce’s hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they explored my body. I moaned, my hand gliding down his perfectly smooth back.
When he pulled back, I said, “I believe you will find I have no qualms with your reaction to my eyes. In fact, I encourage it.”
“My gods, woman, but you tempt me.” His hand slipped between my legs, stroking me until I dug my nails into his back, pleading for more. “I have to know that you are as desperate for me as I am for you.”
Unable to take his teasing anymore, I pushed him over. I caught a glimpse of his shocked look. Quickly closing my eyes, I let him know in my own terms how much I wanted him.
The sun was set by the time we were spent. Laying against his chest, I moved my hand against his muscular stomach. At the moment, it was just a way to stay connected, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he would be ready again. Waiting for the inevitable, I turned to look at him. It was a little lighter than it had been the previous night, but it did not hurt. “What is it you want to clear the debt you claim I owe you?”
